Report: One team is heavily pursuing Morgan Rielly in trade talks

The trade rumours around the NHL are going to reach a fever pitch soon as the Stanley Cup Final is in its final games and teams will begin to talk with more fruition heading into the NHL Draft later this month. The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to be one of the teams at the centre of it all and we may already know a trade that is going to go down.

Morgan Rielly appears to be on his way out of Toronto. The longest-tenured Maple Leaf has a no-movement clause and four years left on his contract that carries a $7.5-million AAV, so while it's not the perfect situation for a team acquiring him, it could be a whole lot worse.

It just feels like the Leafs are going to be changing their blue line a whole lot and while Rielly might be the only defenseman who has amount of offensive game other than Oliver Ekman-Larsson in the group, this summer just feels like a natural parting of ways for Toronto and Rielly.

One team that is hot after the 32-year-old defenseman is the San Jose Sharks, according to recent reports.

San Jose Sharks hot in pursuit of Morgan Rielly

Around the NHL Draft Combine that happened last weekend in Buffalo, reports major talks between the Sharks and the Leafs came to the forefront.

Sharks reporter Sheng Peng recently reported that he strongly believes that the Sharks are interest in Rielly and it makes a whole lot of sense.

The Sharks need just anyone with any experience and capability of playing in an NHL top four on their blue line. Mario Ferraro is the only one with any semblance of doing that outside of their young prospects, and he's most likely going to be heading out the door as an unrestricted free agent this summer.

In comes Rielly and his experience of being a top-four offensive defenseman on a very good team, and the Sharks could be in a very solid spot heading into next season. If he's used correctly -- and not as a No. 1 defenseman like he was in Toronto -- Rielly can be an extremely good asset to have and can quarterback a power play as well as most defenders.

Any other teams interested in Rielly?

What is maybe the most interesting thing about this is that we have not heard many other teams in pursuit of Rielly. The Sharks have been linked ever since the possibility of the veteran leaving Toronto got reported, and it does feel like a natural fit, but there are not any others that seem to have as strong of an interest as San Jose.

The no-movement clause does have its effect. So maybe, while a natural landing spot might be his hometown Vancouver Canucks, the fact that they are going to be bottoming out for the next couple seasons, isn't the most appealing thing. His competitive juices won't let him just ride out the rest of his career without even sniffing the playoffs out in front of his family and friends.

But, many other teams could use a top-four offensive defenseman. The $7.5-million AAV is not as big of a problem as it once was, since the cap ceiling is ballooning. And considering other teams might go out and be interested in getting Darnell Nurse at the same cap hit and contract length -- we know which defenseman we would rather have in the lineup.

Maybe we see other teams start to come out of the woodwork when the Final wraps up, but San Jose seems like the most likely destination.

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